This late Jacobean costume history page consists of images
25-32 from Wenceslas Hollar's Ornatus Muliebris
Anglicanus - and from the book ENGLISH
COSTUME PAINTED & DESCRIBED BY DION CLAYTON CALTHROP. The six
images are shown in larger size further down this Hollar webpage.

Calthrop says that for wonderful images of C17th dress we can do no better than look at the 'Ornatus Muliebris
Anglicanus,' a careful compilation by Hollar of all the
dresses in every class of society.

Calthrop says that for wonderful images of C17th dress we can do no better than look at the 'Ornatus Muliebris
Anglicanus,' a careful compilation by Hollar of all the
dresses in every class of society.

Bohemian artist Wenceslaus Hollar was born 13 July 1607 a native
of C17th Prague. He left Prague in 1627 and worked as a printmaker and
watercolour artist mostly in Britain, but also did commissions abroad.
During the English Civil War he spent time in Antwerp and worked on his
now famous images of the area.

Hollar published many books of painted and engraved
(etched) subject matter. He studied the human and architectural form as
well as the organic, producing superior etched imagery of everyday
costume, high fashion, cathedrals, cityscapes and portraits.

He also made many engraved images you might be familiar with today
such as detailed shell studies and natural history images that told a
story. Heraldic emblems, mythological beasts, Corinthian columns all
featured in his portfolio. He was in London in 1660 and famously recorded the Fire of
London of 1666 with before and after pieces as a published work in 'Views of
London.' Since so few of these buildings exist today we can be thankful
to Hollar for recording the London architecture of that era.

The art collector The Earl
of Arundel had met him in 1636 and invited him to London in 1637 where
Hollar made many etchings related to the English way of life. Some of the
images are fashion related. His depiction of fur muffs are exquisite -
one feels as if every hair of the fur is represented in the engraving.

Although Hollar was almost blind in one eye he was one of the most
skilled and talented etchers of any period. Even though his career
appears to have been successful and he worked for many booksellers and
publishers, Hollar died in great poverty in London on 25 March 1677. It
is claimed the dying Hollar begged bailiffs to leave him with his bed. His
earliest dated work is 1625 and Hollar's final output has been
catalogued at well over
2700 separate etchings.

Etching is an intaglio technique that was developed at the start of the
16th century. Intaglio was considered an easier form of etching
than the earlier method, as the image is
burnt into the copper plate rather than incised with a piercing tool. In
Intaglio an acid resistant wax coat protects the copper plate whilst a needle
is used to draw the imagery onto the coated plate. Once the design is
completed and ready, the copper plate
is immersed in an acid bath and the acid burns into the needle scraped
areas for a first take. Soft lines are stopped with more wax and those
that need to be deeper and bolder get re-immersed in the acid bath. The
result is that the acid
etches deeper lines providing depth, tone and shade when the copper
plate is finally sent to press and thus inked and
pressed onto paper.

This intaglio etching system is marvellous for producing the
finest of details. Hollar was a master at the technique so that in
original early run copies of his work it is possible to see the finest
detail such as the lace texture of a Vandyke collar, a rose on a shoe or
the fine stripe of a fabric.

The British Museum and Windsor Castle also one of the homes of
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
both hold substantial collections of Hollar's engravings. The University
of Toronto has a large collection of Hollar's work online too in their
Wenceslaus Hollar digital collection. PWT.

This late Jacobean costume history page of images consists of 6 of the
costume drawings by Wenceslaus Hollar, circa 1640. The
Wenceslas Hollar Engravings of English Women's Dress were made in the 17th
Century
and taken from English Costume by Dion Clayton Calthrop.

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Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also
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